A former Kansas lawmaker with a history of abusing people is running for a school board seat

Aaron Coleman was arrested twice in office and was accused of strangling his ex-girlfriend. He spent one term in the Kansas House, but wants another shot in office.
TOPEKA, Kansas — Former Kansas state legislator Aaron Coleman, who lost reelection after accusations of abuse by a former girlfriend and an arrest for assaulting his brother, is trying to revive his political career by running for a school board seat in Wyandotte County.

Coleman is one of five candidates running for an at-large seat on the Turner Board of Education. The top four vote-getters will win seats. The other four candidates are incumbents.

His school-board candidacy comes a year after he lost his Statehouse seat. Coleman took office at 20 years old, but the Democrat spent just one term in the Kansas House and he is mostly remembered for his out-of-office controversies.

He was arrested twice in office — once for domestic battery after allegedly hitting his brother. Coleman tried to “shame” his brother for wanting to get baptized, according to an affidavit. He was also arrested for suspicion of drunk driving, but that was later dropped and he was only charged with speeding and not yielding to emergency vehicles.